Urban Composition

I visited Florence, Italy in the summer of 2014 and it's fair to say it went above and beyond my expectations. I anticipated a beautiful city prior to my arrival but I left enlightened, having experienced an uplifting and vibrant hub of culture. I wrote this journal entry in order to share a few of my findings, from an Almost Architect's point of view!

Looking to the North of Florence, The Duomo atop
the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral and the Campanile

Florence is a picturesque composition of solid and void. The architecture flows through its surrounding topography, monuments rise above neighbouring urban fabric and piazzas unfold into the natural landscape of the city.

The Palazzo Vecchio rises above the Piazza Della Signoria

The Renaissance contributed little to the physical pieces of the city whilst the Medieval contributed everything. The North-South axial relationship between the Duomo and the River Arno, the arrangement of public monuments throughout the centre such as the Campanile, the Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria for example, the interrelated network of the street pattern, plus the largely residential dimension of the area is all the fruit of pre-Renaissance artistry.

The development of the Piazza Della Signoria,
source: Dominion of the Eye, by Marvin Trachtenberg

The Piazza Della Signoria is the direct result of a series of logical and geometrical decisions. The grand Palazzo Vecchio gives the vast, irregular surroundings a form, both solid and void work together in unison.

The perspective view,of the Palazzo Vecchio and its Piazza source: Dominion of the Eye

Communities thrived under the growth of artisan skills, arts and crafts, literature and architecture. In a show of power, the wealthy banking family of the Medici created an urban complex which stretched across the North of the city from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti in the South. 

Monuments in the city: The Santa Maria Del Fiore, The Palazzo
Vecchio and the Uffizi, source: Dominion of the Eye 

The Galleria degli Uffizi sculptures re-emphasise the route between the Piazza della Signoria and the River Arno. The line is made up of various sculptures which are arranged along the axis of the palace and the central bay of the piazza, ending with the equestrian statue of Cosimo I de’ Medici. This procession of statues move across the piazza from the perspective space between the two arms of the Uffizi.

The Galleria Degli Uffizi,
source: The Politics of the Piazza, by Eamonn Canniffe 

The Medici family were patrons of the arts. The last of the Medici family tree was Anna Maria Luisa, who in 1737 bequeathed the vast family collection to the city under two conditions; the first was that it remain a collection and the second was that it were never to leave the city. Both conditions have been fulfilled to the present day.

The city is a canvas to this day

And the city remains to be a muse alike 

Lumiere the UK's Largest Light Festival

Lumiere Light Festival, London 2016 was produced by Artichoke and supported by the Mayor of London. The city's architecture was transformed over four evenings last week and I was lucky to catch a tiny piece of the action! It was a playful event showcasing the work of international artists including 3D projections, installations and displays.

Litre of Light by Mick Stephenson
This Artist has used plastic bottles filled with water and a drop of bleach to illuminate
the above pavilion. This alternative technology can be used to filter light through a
roof into a home.      

Litre of Light by Mick Stephenson

To see more from Lumiere Light Festival visit:

http://www.lumiere-festival.com/

#LumiereLDN

2016 Pritzker Prize Winner - Alejandro Aravena

Past winners of the Pritzker Prize include: Shigeru Ban, Toyo Ito, Eduardo Souto de Moura and Peter Zumthor to name but a few. This year’s winner has been named as Alejandro Aravena, a Chilean Architect with an aim to improve urban environments and to tackle the global housing crisis. The Pritzker Prize jury praised Aravena for serving the greater social and humanitarian needs of communities. 

Enabling a community to cope better with environmental disasters by improving the 
infrastructure. Post-tsunami disaster, sustainable reconstruction plan of Constitucion. 
Photography by Felipe Diaz, source: Dezeen

Alejandro Aravena is most famously known for co-founding ‘Elemental’, an architecture group with the aim of eradicating poverty, slums and engaging with communities early on in the design process. Below is a short video by Cristobel Palma showing the atmospheric quality of a park designed by Elemental. The park covers four acres of land and sits upon a hillside in Santiago, source: Dezeen website. 

As an aspiring Architect I am pleased to see professionals adapting to face environmental, social and economic issues. These problems are being confronted and the solutions are further enriching schemes of regeneration and development.  

Quinta Monroy Housing, Iquique, 2004
Photography by Cristobel Palma, source: Dezeen

Quinta Monroy Housing, Iquique, 2004
Photography by Cristobel Palma, source: Dezeen 

Sources: Dezeen, ArchDaily and Architecture Magazine 

Two Sister Buildings

Some examples of the developmental drawings created for my fourth year project, as exhibited in Surface.

The Two Sister Buildings - Developing rooms in plan

Joining the Two Sister Buildings to the Existing Urban Fabric

Bleeding into the Fabric 

Exploring the Section 

Exhibition

Surface, 
Printmaking Exhibition, part of the MArch Printmaking Designate

When I became lost in the constant late nights, context escaping my brain and concept becoming meaningless, all I wanted was to step back from my project. The next day I would head off to the 3D modelling workshop, the printmaking department or the library in search of a conversation, a drawing, a book, anything. It was in these spaces that I would often meet students from various creative backgrounds. These other students did not fear scale, materiality or to be a little different. This is what truly inspired me the most.

Our small group of amateur-turned pro Printmakers!
Tutored by Jane Houghton  

Surface, the exhibition was a pivotal moment in my fourth year at University. Printmaking became a logical process for me to gain an understanding of place, materiality and to develop projects loosely through plan, section and elevation. I created some of my best drawings and ideas in the Printmaking workshop, alongside not only architecture but illustration, graphics and art students.   

Beginnings

Kingston University, Architecture Degree Show 2015,
(All photographs taken by Pamandeep Gill)  

As a member of Kingston University's Alumni I am happy to have called the KU Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture my home for five tough but very valuable years. I am proud to say I have learnt a great deal at the hands of some great Architects, Engineers, Artists and Craftspeople. The Faculty bears endless possibilities of sharing workspaces with talented individuals from across many fields such as Photography, Printmaking, Illustration and Fashion.  

The above photograph was taken at the KU Architecture School degree show, June 2015. These shows aim to display the best of our work and mark the end of the academic year. The exhibition showcases our achievements as a studio and as a collective school. These moments make the beginnings of our architectural journeys and our careers.